Author: Andrew Poelstra 2019-10-09 16:56:51
Published on: 2019-10-09T16:56:51+00:00
In an email thread started by Ethan Heilman on October 3, 2019, the topic of discussion shifted from NO_INPUT to OP_CAT. Heilman opined that OP_CAT is an important opcode that was removed because of the dire situation with scripts at the time; however, most protocols he has wanted to build on Bitcoin are limited by the inability to concatenate stack values. He suggested that enabling OP_CAT would allow for far smaller transaction sizes in protocols like TumbleBit. Adding to the conversation, Andrew Poelstra, Director of Research at Blockstream, stated that OP_CAT enables the creation of Merkle trees, manipulating signatures, enforcing EC points come from a hash with no known discrete log, and more. He noted that he has cut off many lines of inquiry because they were impossible without this opcode. In conclusion, OP_CAT could unlock numerous possibilities for Bitcoin's development.
Updated on: 2023-06-13T21:43:04.672279+00:00